Old-Boy Dell Sued For $500 Million For Sex, Age Discrimination

Former Dell HR executive Jan Chapman, laid off in April, says that during her tenure the company repeatedly passed her over for promotions, giving them to younger, less qualified men instead.

Chapman and three others have filed a class action suit against the company and are seeking $500 million in damages.

Fellow plaintiff Bethany Riches says her supervisor told her that, with her now-halted ascent up the Dell ladder, she was "breaking into arguably one of the toughest old boy networks in Dell."

"Dell is an equal opportunity company," company spokesman David Frink told the Wall Street Journal. "We don't tolerate discrimination in any aspect of employment."

Gold-digging disgruntled employees or shafted staffers in search of justice? We have no idea. But maybe Dell could have avoided this kind of suit by diversifying its pictured 14-man executive leadership team.